“My child tried tennis lessons somewhere else before and didn’t like them”
I am so sad when I hear this. How we teach tennis to older children and adults is very different to how we should teach it to younger children. Children are inspired through their imagination, through success and praise, through the colourful and varied equipment they use with experiences and surroundings that motivate them. It’s no good sticking a racket or ball in their hand for an hour and expecting them to be able to hit or throw perfectly immediately. We have to develop their bodies, skills and mind-set to be able to enjoy the sport and to ultimately be good at it.
Our approach is 3-fold:
- Firstly, it’s really important to develop fine and gross motor skills, coordination, movement and depth perception that are required to succeed at the very complex sport of tennis.
- Secondly, we must mentally prepare the children, engaging them through games, through friendly competition, sharing and teamwork. Sometimes they must feel challenged (in the right way) to develop tenacity and confidence.
- Finally, and this is a core fundamental of Tennis Champs, we must engage all parents in classes. If children see you active, enthusiastic and engaged then they will be active, enthusiastic and engaged.
We split down each class into bite-sized activities, some with a racket and/or ball, but many without in order to build all-round coordination skills needed to play tennis (or indeed any other sport). Our syllabus is progressive so we build on the skills we learn each week to progressively improve and develop our confidence week on week. Even the youngest children (our youngest are sometimes 22 months old!) or those that appear to be the least coordinated at the start of a year will come on leaps and bounds after a couple of terms. All children are different in their motor skill development rates so it’s important to tailor each activity to each individual child to ensure that everyone can succeed and comes away with a smile on their face. We are not about finding the next Wimbledon champion (although of course that is always a bonus!), we are about nurturing and enjoyment and achieving to the best of our ability.
So, to all those who have had a negative tennis lesson experience previously, I urge you PLEASE TRY AGAIN WITH TENNIS CHAMPS!
I am now taking bookings for the Autumn term… book in now for a taster to try it out for yourself.
